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At Dearborn on March 19, over twenty UM-D LEO members turned out to witness negotiations between LEO and the UM administration.

The centerpiece of the session was a package proposal by the administration that linked several articles, including salary, benefits, professional development, and layoff/ recall.  On the key issue of salary, the administration proposed a fixed percentage annual raise of 1.5% for Ann Arbor lecturers over the life of the contract.  Dearborn and Flint annual raises would remain equal to the average annual salary increase of tenured/ tenure-track faculty in the arts and sciences college on the respective campuses.  No changes to promotional "bumps" or to minimum salaries were proposed.  Small increases in professional development funds were offered.  LEO is considering its response to the package.

Currently the Lecturer I and II minimum annual salaries in Ann Arbor, Dearborn and Flint are $32,000, $26,000 and $25,000 respectively.  The administration feels that until such time that it cannot staff courses for such minimum salaries, there is no reason to raise them.

Also at Dearborn, LEO made a counter-proposal to the administration's proposal to change the "No Strike" article.  LEO's counter-proposal would essentially return to current contract language, which has been in service for the past six years.

Bargaining will continue on Friday, March 26, from 9:30 - 5:00 in the Michigan Rooms (UCEN) at the University of Michigan-Flint.  All LEO members are urged to attend part or all of the session!